Such shielded connectors have been known. An example of shielded connector is shown in FIG. 12. This shielded connector 90 includes an electrically insulative housing 91, upper and lower shield members 92a and 92b and a plurality of electrical cables 95. The insulative housing 91 retains a plurality of female contacts (not shown), and the cables 95 are connected to these contacts, respectively, in the insulative housing 91, each cable extending outward. The upper and lower shield members 92a and 92b cover the upper and lower surfaces and the lateral surfaces of the insulative housing 91. Furthermore, the insulative housing 91 includes a plurality of contact insertion slots 91a at the front surface thereof, into which slots the male contacts of a matable connector are inserted for electrical connection with the female contacts in the insulative housing 91. The upper and lower shield members 92a and 92b, which cover the outer surfaces of the insulative housing 91, function to prevent the signals being transmitted through the contacts from generating any electrical noise outward or any outside noise from entering the shielded connector and affecting the signals being transmitted. Therefore, generally, the upper and lower shield members are electrically grounded.
In this shield connector, the upper and lower shield members 92a and 92b are formed in complex configurations, such that the shield members are mountable fittingly onto the insulative housing 91, covering the upper and lower surfaces and the lateral surfaces thereof. For example, the shield members are formed in two pieces in configurations to fit and cover the exterior of the insulative housing tightly as shown in FIG. 12. As the two shield members are to fit and engage securely over the insulative housing, these members are provided with complex features. This design for the shield members is disadvantageous as far as the productivity and the cost of the connector are concerned.
There is another possible option for providing an electrical connector with a shield member. A metal plate as the shield member can be wound around the insulative housing of the connector. In this case, the metal plate must be bent and placed over the insulative housing during the assembly of the connector (i.e., the shield member is not prefabricated in a predetermined figure). However, this way of providing the shield member is laborious and can increase the production cost. In addition, it presents another problem that the exterior dimensions of the shielded connector are enlarged by the provision of the shield member, which is added to cover the insulative housing of the connector.